The sixth annual celebration, which kicks off Oct. 10, will be spread over 10 days instead of nine this year to accommodate new flagship events that raise money for the Malone Scholarship Program.

Cleveland Beer Week usually ends on a Saturday with the big Brewzilla beer tasting, but will roll into Sunday. The new flagship events range from a booze cruise on the Nautica Queen to music concerts to tailgating for the Browns-Steelers game.

SweetWater says it will hold sampling parties in October in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dayton, and in November in Toledo, Bowling Green and Defiance. For details, check out the SweetWater main Facebook page or its Ohio page.

Samuel Adams has released its Boston Lager and Rebel IPA in 16-ounce cans. Previously, only its Boston Lager was available in the specially designed 12-ounce "Sam Can" that was introduced last year.

"Now drinkers can take Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Rebel IPA in 16-ounce cans to places where bottles can't go like the beach, hiking, golfing, boating and backyard BBQs," the brewery said in a news release. "Cans also protect the liquid from sunlight and oxidation which can compromise the flavor of the beer."

The 16-ounce versions retail anywhere from $1.79 to $1.99, depending on the market.

At least 26 Ohio breweries are headed to Denver this week for the prestigious event, which kicks off Thursday and is the largest commercial beer competition in the world. (Note: The total number of breweries will be updated as necessary.)

Arnold's Bar and Grill and HalfCut in Cincinnati are adding Warped Wing Brewing Co. to their beer offerings. The two locations announced in a joint news release today (Sept. 29) that they will start carrying four of the Dayton brewery's flagship beers and two limited release beers.

Special tappings are scheduled for 5 p.m. Oct. 7 at both locations.

"Arnold's and Halfcut have been working together for quite awhile to make this happen and are honored that Warped Wing has trusted them to introduce their product to the area," Arnold's and HalfCut said in a news release.

The party will start with the release of Bourbon Barrel Horus Imperial Red, described by the brewery in a news release as "big and rich with lots of bourbon influence after extensive barrel aging." Elevator brewed only a small batch of the beer, which will be available in 750ml bottles. The price and purchase limits aren't set yet.

The event also will include live bands, food trucks and informal tours of the production brewery.

-- The Cincinnati Business Courier reports that Rivertown Brewing Co. has a new/old owner. Co-owner Jason Roeper has bought out partner Randy Schiltz and is planning changes. “Over the past year, I did some personal reflection and thought it was best to part ways," Roeper says. To read the full story, click here.

-- The Columbus Dispatch reports on the growing hop crop in Ohio. “The first couple of years were rough,” Andy Pax, who runs Heartland Hops, says. “Anybody can grow them, but not everyone can make them produce.” To read the full story, click here.

-- The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports on the new Fat Head's Brewery that will soon open in Portland, Ore. "This is a new canvas for us," brewer and co-owner Matt Cole says. To read the full story, click here.

Wolf’s Ridge Brewing Co. is adding a taproom. The Columbus brewpub – which celebrates its one-year anniversary this weekend, but more on that later – has always had a small bar.

But the new 2,500-square-foot tasting room now under construction will allow Wolf’s Ridge to expand its customer base and its beer offerings.

“It will give us the potential to (hopefully) double our capacity, and to respond to the many requests we've been getting for events and large parties,” co-owners and father-son team Alan and Bob Szuter said in an email.

Pop the champagne. Wait, hold that cork. Crack open a good ole’ Ohio-made beer instead.

Ohio has surpassed the 100-brewery mark -- a feat that not many states can brag about. Ohio now is home to 103 breweries, more than double the number from just three years ago, according to a Beacon Journal analysis of brewing licenses issued by the state.

-- The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Wiedemann plans to bring production of the famous brand back to Newport, Ky. "Our goal from the beginning was to bring production back to Newport," Jon Newberry said. "We've been overwhelmed by the positive response we've gotten from everyone here – consumers, bar and restaurant owners, city officials." To read the full story, click here.

-- The Columbus Dispatch reports on the ongoing battle to allow more alcohol in beer in Ohio, saying that the 12 percent cap is discouraging Stone Brewing Co. from building its second brewery in the state. “I don’t see any reason for a cap,” North High Brewing Co. brewer Jason McKibben says. “There is no modern-day significance to having a limit on beer when wine and liquor is clearly over that limit.” To read the full story, click here.

"Friendship, camaraderie and enjoying great times are at the heart of Budweiser’s most popular campaigns, and this video maintains that tradition but with an unexpected twist," Budweiser Vice President Brian Perkins said in a news release. "Budweiser is known for connecting with beer drinkers in memorable ways, and our efforts to promote responsible drinking through this video are no exception."

UPDATED: GQ Magazine turned to the owner of a Cincinnati brewery to help recommend "The 50 Best Craft Beers Every Man Must Try." Bryant Goulding, co-founder of Rhinegeist Brewery, offers up five suggestions in the "Best Stein Filling Quenchers" category.

In its brief write-up, the magazine says: "A veteran of LA's Golden Road, [Goulding] knows summer-friendly beer — now in Cincinnati, he runs Rhinegeist, making German-inspired craft beer in the hulking 1885 brick home of the biggest pre-prohibition brewer in the city."

The event will showcase five wood-aged varieties of Too Cans IPA. There will be live music and food. The nanobrewery, which opened earlier this year and specializes in high-alcohol brews, also will introduce its new brewmaster, Dan Griffin.

Looking for a big beer festival to attend this weekend in Ohio? You're in luck. There are at least seven to choose from, including two brand new events in Akron and Portsmouth. Here's a quick rundown of what's coming:

-- The Zoo Brew is from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday at the Toledo Zoo. The tasting will feature more than 30 breweries. General admission tickets are $45, with VIP tickets costing $80. For more details, click here.

-- Beermumbo.com provides an update to the new Braxton Brewing Co. coming to Covington, Ky. "Construction will begin very soon," the website says. "They have decided to go with a 20 BBL 4 Vessel brewhouse that can grow with the brewery. The brewing system is 100% customized and will be supplied by Quality Tank Solutions ... The construction is scheduled to be completed no later than January 1, 2015 with hopes of having beer at Cincy Winter Beerfest." To read the full story, click here.

-- The website Marketplace offers an interesting graphic that answers the question: "Who makes your favorite beer?" It's likely one of five companies. The website explores the big brewers such as Anheuser-Busch InBev, SABMiller and Heineken. To see the graphic, click here.

The festival -- held in the stadium outfield -- will feature about 60 breweries and more than 140 beers. A food court will be set up around the infield, and there will be live music.

Tickets for the event, sponsored by Goose Island Beer Co., are $30 in advance or $35 at the gate. They include what the RubberDucks describe as "a sweet commemorative sampling glass" and 15 drink tickets. For tickets, click here.

It's the first time the beer will be available since early 2013 when the Boston Beer Co. released New Albion Ale in bottles. New Albion was founded in 1976 in Sonoma, Calif., by Jack McAuliffe and is considered the first microbrewery in the U.S. It went out of business in 1982 but has been credited with helping launch the craft beer industry and serving as an inspiration for generations of craft brewers, including Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman.

A special launch party is set for 6 p.m. Oct. 17 at Platform. McAuliffe will attend. His daughter Renee DeLuca, who lives in the Cleveland area and is the president of the new New Albion Brewing Co., is hoping to revive the brand.

MadTree and Rhinegeist had previously been announced, but Warped Wing is a new addition.

“Our friends from Sun King were in a few weeks ago to check out our can line and extended us an invitation to the event,” said Nick Bowman, one of the co-founders of Warped Wing. “Indy’s not too far from Dayton and we’ve had people come out and visit our brewery so we hope the added exposure will bring more visitors to check out the Dayton beer scene.”

Columbus Brewing Co. isn’t the only brewery on the move in the state capital. Four String Brewing Co. is scouting the community for a new production facility.

Owner Dan Cochran said he hopes to be renovating a new building by the beginning of next year and making beer there sometime next year. Four String also wants to upgrade from its current 10-barrel brewing system to a 30-barrel brewhouse because of demand for its brands, which include Brass Knuckle American Pale Ale and Big Star White IPA.

“We can’t short ourselves in this next step or we’ll be talking about [upgrading] again in three years,” Cochran said.

In the Great Lakes webisode, host Ewan Porter, an Australian professional golfer and commentator, leads viewers on a tour of the Cleveland brewery. “Coming to Great Lakes is a little like taking a tour of Cleveland history,” he says.

The Ohio Craft Brew Fest attracted big crowds last weekend to the North Market in Columbus. The final totals aren’t in yet, but the estimate is that about 7,000 people visited during the festival’s three-day run.

Here are few fun highlights from my visit:

1. North High Brewing Co. co-owner Gavin Meyers had to be the most animated brewer/brewery owner at the festival. Wearing mirrored sunglasses right out of the late 1970s TV show CHiPS, Meyers was whooping it up and high-fiving beer drinkers Saturday.

-- The Sandusky Register reports on the sixth annual Brew Ha-Ha set Saturday (Sept. 20) at The Milan Museum in Milan. “This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, so we hope a lot of people will come out and support the museum,” Ann Basilone-Jones, executive director of The Milan Museum, says. To read the full story, click here.

-- The voting is continuing in the Ohio Beercast's annual Fantasty Ohio Beer League contest, which pits Ohio beers against each other until there is one ultimate winner. The second week of voting is under way. To vote or see results, click here.

Shhhh. Don’t tell anybody but the Butcher and the Brewer – Cleveland’s newest brewpub – is up and running. The brewery, located on the city’s fashionable East Fourth Street, quietly opened a few weeks ago without any fanfare or even a public announcement.

Heck, there isn’t even a sign out front letting you know that it’s a brewery – although the giant wall of growlers in one of the front windows sort of gives it away.

“It’s already so busy,” brewer Eric Anderson said Thursday. (Sept. 11) “You can’t fit in here. If it ever slows down, we might have an official opening.”

Columbus will have to wait a little longer to learn if it's nabbed a new brewery being built by Stone Brewing Co. The Escondido, Calif.-based brewer issued a statement to the media Thursday saying that it's not quite ready to make an announcement on its new site.

"As you can imagine, there are a lot of moving parts and we are working diligently towards a conclusion," brewery spokeswoman Sabrina LoPiccolo said in an email. "We do not have a specific date as to when our decision will be made, but we will ensure the news reaches you once there is something to share. In the meantime, we will not provide any other details as we focus on coming to the conclusion as expeditiously as possible. Thank you for your continued interest."

Stone -- the 10th largest craft brewery in the U.S. last year -- plans to build a new brewery east of the Mississippi River. It had announced in August that it had narrowed down the potential locations to Columbus, Richmond, Va., and Norfolk, Va. At that time, the brewery said it hoped to make a decision within two months.

-- Columbus Business First reports on the new Land-Grant Brewing Co. in Franklinton. The brewery could be open next month, the newspaper reports. To read the full story, click here.

-- Pat's Pints reports that Zaftig Brewing Co. in Columbus is throwing a party Sept. 20 to offer folks a chance to sample five wood-aged varieties of its Too Cans Imperial IPA. To read the full report, click here.

The Platform Beer Co. will kick off its incubator program at 6:30 p.m. today (Sept. 11) with a special Meet the Brewer event. The Cleveland brewery will introduce the first brewer undergoing its free 12-week training program.

The public will get a chance to meet Kyle Roth, a 38-year-old South Euclid homebrewer and former beer blogger. Roth, along with his brother Zac and cousins Jared and Drew Opfer, plans to open the Ferndock Brewing Co. He sees the incubator program as a way to gain valuable experience.

He will spend time working at the brewery -- not full time -- and getting a behind-the-scenes look at the operation. The training includes shadowing at other breweries, including the much larger Columbus Brewing Co. He’ll also focus on the business side of the profession.

For those interested in learning more about the craft beer industry, the tasting will include a screening of the documentary Craft, a look at the growing industry by filmmaker and cicerone Craig Noble.

For those more interested in sampling, the event will include BrewDog and MadTree Brewing Co.

Hold onto your beer mugs. This weekend will be one of the busiest craft beer weekends of the year in Ohio, with big festivals taking place all over the state. Here's a quick rundown:

-- The Ohio Craft Brew Festival at the North Market in Columbus. The three-day festival kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday. (Sept. 12) It will showcase more than 20 Ohio breweries. Tickets are $25 at the door. (As a special draw, I will be speaking from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday about the state's growing craft beer industry.) For full details, click here.

-- The Chardon Brewfest in Chardon. The festival, which runs from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, will feature 24 breweries from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Michigan. Advance tickets are $25 or $35 at the door. For full details, click here.

But in a twist this year, the brewery also produced 60,000 special “Trophy Cans” that are being randomly inserted into 18-, 24- and 30-packs. If you find one of those golden cans, you could win prizes, including the grand prize of an all-expenses-paid hunting trip to Deer Creek Lodge in Sebree, Ky.

-- The Artful Pint explores how Ohio craft breweries use Instragram -- or don't. "Out of the 90 Ohio craft breweries on my list, 48, or about 53% of them have active Instagram accounts," Bob Lesher writes. To read the full post, click here.

-- WCPO previews the Cincy Beerfest set for Friday and Saturday on Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati. "New this year is a Sunday tailgate party. Organizers said fans can help cheer on the Bengals at the square while quaffing craft beer," Jesse Folk writes. To read the full story, click here.

Willoughby Brewing Co. is headed to Germany and you’re welcome to tag along. The tour — dubbed the Bavarian Bier Blast — is a seven-night excursion that includes visits to Munich and Bamberg.

The trip, organized by Prime Tours of Dublin, is open to anyone but there’s space for only 40 people. It's set for May 5-13.

“They approached me about putting together a trip, so I diligently selected the itinerary banking on my many beer trips to Germany,” Willoughby brewer Rick Seibt said in an email. “We’ll be visiting Bamberg, a UNESCO World Heritage city with a great brewing history, and eight breweries in the town itself.”

-- Channel 13 reports that Toledo beer is safe to drink, despite the Lake Erie algae bloom problem earlier this year that caused authorities to warn people not do drink tap water. Maumee Bay Brewing Co. is sending its water out to a lab to be tested. "We're going to be doing the same type of test that the city does on their water, privately, just so we can be sure that we're getting a clean sample," brewery manager Craig Kerr says. To read the full story, click here.

-- Drink Up Columbus reports on the Creekside Hops & Vines Fest in Gahanna set for Sept. 20. The event benefits the Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation. To read the full story, click here.

The Ohio Craft Brewers Association is looking for some help in raising its profile in the state. The nonprofit group this week (Sept. 4) released an RFP (request for proposals to the layman) for assistance from marketing/advertising/public relations firms in branding the association.

"This is just the next step in the progression of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association," said Mary MacDonald, who was hired as the group's first full-time executive director last year. "[Ohio is] number four in production of craft beer and we need to do a better job of telling our story."

She has spent her time so far developing a strategic plan and growing membership. There are now 107 members, including 71 craft breweries, she said Friday.

It’s no secret that Columbus Brewing Co. has been hamstrung for years with a lack of space. Demand is high for its award-winning beers. But owner/brewer Eric Bean hasn’t had enough room to expand and produce more beer at his current site in Columbus' historic Brewery District.

He solved that dilemma Thursday, signing paperwork to buy the former Hill Distributing building on Harrison Road on the west side of the city. The facility is nearly 50,000 square feet.

“It’s going to give us the space and the equipment we need,” Bean said. “We now have the resources to grow the way we want to. We’ve just been so limited … All of our excuses have to go away now. We have the facility to do what the market wants us to do.”

The menu features a choice of clams, and/or chicken and/or steak dinner along with clam chowder, corn on the cob, cole slaw or salad, and sweet or redskin potatoes. Soft drinks and three 4-ounce beer tastings are included in price.

The brewery offers 12 Little Mountain brands and will feature an all-day special on its OctoberFest Lager, as well as a special tapping of a barrel-aged KGB, its Russian imperial stout.

Market Garden Brewery in Cleveland will host a Dawg Pound Bash for the Cleveland Browns starting at 5 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 4). The brewpub, which says it's the only official Browns Backers bar in Ohio City/downtown, has made a small batch of its Dawg Pound Lager for the event.

The festivities will include the Browns Fan Express Bus parked outside, Browns Drumline performing, former Browns cornerback Hanford Dixon signing autographs and a visit from the Browns mascot Brownie the Elf. The Mike Pettine Show, available from 7 to 8 p.m. on 92.3 FM, also will be broadcast from the Market Garden beer garden.

The UberDrome -- a Munich-style tent held in conjunction with Oktoberfest Zinzinnati -- takes place on the Event Lawn next to the Moerlein Lager House from 5 p.m. to midnight Sept. 19 and from 1 p.m. to midnight Sept. 20.

“We are thrilled to honor Dr. Tolzmann as the 2014 Moerlein Lager House UberDrome burgermeister,” Greg Hardman, president and chief executive officer of the Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. and managing partner of the Moerlein Lager House, said in a prepared statement. “His leadership in furthering German cultural heritage throughout Greater Cincinnati and the United States has meant so much to tell the story of our area, and its German history.”

I scrunched up my nose. What the h e double hockey sticks was he talking about? I liked #10. I liked it a lot. And here was the guy across the table from me at the Cleveland Labor Day Oktoberfest Microbrew Competition calling it cat pee.

Homestead Beer Co. is adding 12-ounce bottles to its lineup. The Heath brewery launched a year and a half ago with draft and 22-ounce bottles. But now its 1805 IPA and Tenpenny Amber are hitting the central and southeast Ohio market in the 12-ounce size and six-packs.

"We’re thrilled to be able to reach more beer lovers than we do now especially those that tend to enjoy craft beer at home," co-owners Adam Rhodes and Kevin Atkinson said in an email. "We have plans to add additional styles to our portfolio of 12-ounce six-packs, and we’ll continue introduce specialty beers in 22-ounce bottles as well."

The bottles will be available primarily in six-packs with a suggested retail price of $8.99, they said. The beers have been released to Matesich Distributing and Southeast Beverage Co. and are showing up at retailers in Licking, Fairfield, Knox, Athens and many other counties to the east and south of Columbus.

-- The Columbus Dispatch reports that the Brass Tap plans to open a location in Polaris. The craft beer bar will have 80 taps. “Columbus Brewing Co. to Elevator, anything we can get our hands on that is made in Columbus,” Mic Foster, the franchisee who also owns a Brass Tap in Cincinnati, says about the selection. To read the full story, click here.

-- Queen City Fresh reports on the new book Cool Beer Labels, The Best Art & Design From Breweries Around the World, which features work from Nelter Small Batch and references HalfCut and MadTree Brewing Co. To read the full report, click here.